No matter how independent you are now or want to be in the future, the time may come when you need to consider the long-term care services available to you.
The first step is to ask your local council (or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland) to carry out an assessment of your care needs to help decide on the best care and support for you.
Clearly the main considerations will centre around your own well-being and independence, for example do you need nursing care or help with day-to-day tasks? It will also look at the needs of the people who live with you.
But you’ll also need to consider other things, for example if you want to remain at home or feel you need to move to a care home. If the latter, consider where family and friends live, what hobbies and interests you have, and whether you have (or would like) pets.
Given a choice, most of us would like to stay at home as we get older.
To help us do so, there’s a range of support services available, such as regular visits from a home care worker to help with personal care, shopping and preparing meals.
Other services could include ‘meals on wheels’, monitored personal alarms and household equipment or home adaptations to make everyday tasks easier.
There might also be local day centres where you can socialise and enjoy various activities, with transport made available to get you there.
These are purpose-built homes that you can buy or rent from local authorities, housing associations or private companies. They’re designed to let you remain as independent as possible, while providing extra support if you need it.
You get your own front door but there is usually on-site support, such as a warden, communal facilities and alarm systems.
Sometimes the accommodation is available in retirement villages, which tend to be larger complexes offering more leisure and care services.
Alternatively, if you need different levels of care or plan to move into a care home at a later date, ‘extra care’ or ‘assisted living’ schemes are worth thinking about.
You’ll live independently in your own home, sometimes in the grounds of a care home, but will have nearby access to many services that help make your daily living easier.
If your needs can’t be met at home or in supported housing, a care home might be the answer.
There are two types:
Both are places where you can live (often with a spouse) and have your care needs met by trained staff.
Some also have accommodation and support especially designed for older people with dementia.
This type of care is provided by the NHS, typically following hospital discharge to enable you to regain your independence. It’s often received in your own home but can also be received in a care home.
These short periods of intensive medical care might include at-home medical support from a GP, 24-hour rapid response team or hospital-at-home scheme, therapy and nursing care.
You might qualify for intermediate care if:
Does your partner or carer need a short break from caring for you? Or perhaps you need to stay somewhere for a short while to recover from illness?
Going into respite care could be the answer, and some care homes allocate specific rooms for this purpose.
Each local authority will have its own policy for charging for respite care but the value of your home would not be taken into account.
24-hour live in care at home could cost from around £50,000 a year. In which case moving to a care home could be more cost effective, unless care is needed for you and a partner or spouse, in which case it can work out cheaper as many providers just charge a supplementary charge for a second person rather than doubling the cost.
The average cost of a care home place in the UK is about £33,792 a year, and £42,624 if nursing care is required the price is likely to be more if you live in the South East of England. (Figures from CareHome.co.uk.)
Despite the housing price slump, the value of sheltered housing has held up well – not good news if you’re selling to buy. Some schemes are available to rent rather than buy. Even if you’re going down the care-at-home route, you’ll find that at approximately £18 an hour, two hours of daily care could amount to almost £13,200 a year. (Source: UK Care Guideopens in new window)
State-funded? Yes
Self-funded? Yes
More information: Local authorities are likely to charge for services.
More information: You might be entitled to Housing Benefit if you are renting.
Self-funded? No
More information: It’s usually restricted to six weeks.
More information: In some circumstances, you’ll need to pay.
More information: You might be self-funded, or fully-funded, or part-funded by your local authority (or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland) dependent upon your needs and your ability to pay.
More information: You might be self-funded, or part-funded by your local authority (or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland). You might be fully funded by or receive a contribution towards the nursing costs from the NHS (or HSC in Northern Ireland).
More information: Accommodation, nursing care and personal care costs are provided free.
This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.